Providential Financial was founded in 1880 so that the working classes of industrial parts of West Yorkshire could have sufficient credit. Over the years,
Provident Financial Company has become the country’s No. 1 in the home credit business with a very successful credit card business. It was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in1962.
In 1997, the home credit line of business was transferred to Poland and Czechoslovakia to expand growth centres outside Britain. This grew so much that only in 2007, the Company introduced a separate listing for this international arm. It now trades independently under the name of International Personal Finance.
Providential Financial Products:
Home credit: Today, Providential Financial is the market leader in the UK and Ireland in the niche area of home credit. Home credit here can be of three kinds—small, short-term and unsecured cash loans of about £50-£500. Agents deliver the money customers require at their doorstep and go back each week to collect dues.
The Company does not charge any penalty for late payments or no payments but does charge a fixed fee to be paid upfront. This makes the entire process and relationship between customer and
Provident Financial easy, transparent and flexible. No wonder over 1.5 million customers avail of this service around Christmas time, birthdays or weddings, or for holidays, or any such big expense.
Vanquis Bank credit card: If anyone has been denied credit by the recognized lenders, they are sure to get it at Vanquis Bank which has been particularly established for them. People with poor or no credit history, or who have had problems with credit but can now in a better position to have a credit card account and those on lower salaries can all avail of this facility. The model worked so well that today this bank has more than 250,000 card holders. This card is designed to suit the customer’s needs with a low credit limit and great level of telephonic contact so that they do not go overboard using the card.
This credit card has much lower credit limits than other card companies—in fact, it goes as low as £250. The Classic card requires that customers pay back a minimum of 5% of
their outstanding bills, as against other credit card companies who charge 2%-3%.
Real Personal Finance: This is part of
Provident Financials Consumer Credit Division, and a natural way forward of the home credit business that provides larger loans for longer periods that are collected online by directly debiting the amount from the card holder’s account. While the Personal Finance Manager writes out the loan in the customer’s home and looks after any arrears he might have to repay, his repayments are always done by debiting the amount online each month.
A minimum loan of £750 can be given under this scheme and a maximum of £4,000, to be repaid between 12 and 36 months. This service encourages a personal bond between
Provident Financial and the customer and provides a convenient method of repayments to be made online. This product is all set to catch on in 2008 and expand in 2009.
